Small US groups combat historic levels of social isolation

Americans are disconnected from each other at historic levels, buffeted by what a former surgeon general calls an “epidemic of loneliness.” “Loneliness is one of the most pressing challenges that’s facing our country, the United States, but also the world,” said Vivek Murthy, the former Surgeon General, and founder of the Together Project. Recent polling shows that membership rates in religious faiths are at their lowest in nearly a century. And Americans have fewer close friends than they used to, according to the Survey Center on American Life. They trust each other less. A Community Health Deputy and peer specialist for the Neighborhood Resilience Project, whose goal is to restore and build community at the local level, visited a client struggling with depression, anxiety, and loneliness. “We talk about things and our common interests, as well as her helping me get beyond my loneliness and conquer my fear,” said Tricia Berger, a client of the Neighborhood Resilience Project. “That’s my main thing, to leave my clients just a little bit better than they were,” said Kim Lowe, a Community Health Deputy with the Neighborhood Resilience Project, while sitting with Berger. About one in six adults feels lonely all or most of the time. It’s about one in four young adults, according to the Pew Research Center. But in cities and towns around the U.S., some groups are working to reconnect their communities. Murthy depicts these groups as part of a growing movement centered around connection. “One of the things I came to realize is if we want to address the challenge of loneliness, we need to build a movement centered around connection. And the good news is that that movement is already starting to build. But what we have to do now is accelerate that movement,” said Murthy. “The Neighborhood Resilience Project is a ministry of the Orthodox Church dedicated to the pursuit of resilient, healing, and healthy community,” said Rev. Paul Abernathy, founder. “There are examples of this where, certainly, you will see the food and clothing pantries we have for people.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.